An online patent-management company founded by Boise tech entrepreneurs Faisal Shah and James Hepworth has been sold.

The sale could mean more software engineering jobs for First to File's Boise operation, which employs most of the company’s roughly 20 workers, said James Bergeron, First to File's CEO. The company also has offices in the Silicon Valley.

The buyer is CPA Global, an intellectual-property management firm in Jersey, one of the Channel Islands and a British dependency off the coast of Normandy, France. The sale price was not disclosed.

Shah and Hepworth began First to File in 2006. They shared ownership with institutional and angel-fund investors.

This is the second business Shah and Hepworth have sold to a larger company. They sold MarkMonitor, an online brand-protection and brand-management company, last year to Thomas Reuters.

“With this latest acquisition, another corporate giant will be setting up offices and creating jobs in the Treasure Valley,” Shah said Wednesday.

Bergeron said CPA has been discussing expanding the number of software engineers that could be at the Boise office.

CPA bought the company with the intent to develop it, said Mark Holt, chief technology officer. "With CPA Global’s backing in terms of investment, resources and international network, First To File will be able to expand and accelerate its development,” Holt said.

CEO Peter Sewell said in a news release that “clients have been increasingly seeking support of paperless (intellectual property) management, and I'm delighted that CPA Global can now provide this as part of our portfolio.”

Shah and Hepworth founded and fund Nebula Shift, a tech incubator one floor above the Main Street Bistro in Downtown Boise. He also helps fund the b|launched competition, an annual contest by the Boise Young Professionals group to launch a software company. The Boise Young Professionals are sponsored by the Boise Metro Chamber of Commerce.

Bill Roberts: 377-6408